The Cursed Friend by Beatrice Salvioni review – rebels with a cause
Lucy Popescu
The short-story writer’s debut novel, set in 1930s Italy, is a vibrant, Ferrante-esque tale of an intense relationship and revenge
Sulaiman Addonia
I’m taking writing back to the rock’n’roll era!
The Eritrean-Ethiopian-British novelist on childhood trauma and its effect on his work, the importance of sex in stories and paying homage to your imagination
Adolescence expert Lucy Foulkes
Here’s why a smartphone ban isn’t the answer, and what we should do instead
‘I believed I was one of the cool kids’
Ingrid Persaud on her journey from legal academic to artist to novelist
Book of the day
The Architecture of Modern Empire by Arundhati Roy review – two decades of fire
Sukhdev Sandhu
Tom Gauld's cultural cartoons
Blatant vote chasing of the crime fiction community by politicians – cartoon
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The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry review – a wild western
Sandra Newman
Tragedy and farce collide in this dazzling tale of lovers on the run in Montana
Fiction
Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin review – an erudite first novel with horny energy
Anthony Cummins
The bedroom antics of two couples 50 years apart drive the cultural critic’s debut novel, a cerebral comedy full of insights into art, womanhood and ethical quandaries
Crime and thrillers roundup
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
Laura Wilson
Fiction
Sandwich by Catherine Newman review – emotional crisis and comedy in Cape Cod
Joanna Cannon
Fiction
Cecilia by K-Ming Chang review – teenage kicks
Emily Rhodes
Fiction
Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newlands review – visceral coming-of-age tale
Lucy Popescu
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Fossil Free Books organisers on Baillie Gifford’s exit from literary festival funding
Lorrie Moore
I identify with Beth in Little Women, who dies
The acclaimed American author on the humour, horror and anger in her latest novel, what she would have as her epitaph and the writers she most admires
Palestinian author Raja Shehadeh
All this solidarity from the world – yet nothing has changed
The Palestinian human rights lawyer and author Raja Shehadeh talks about his hopes and fears for his homeland, and finding a place of refuge amid the chaos of war
Rose Tremain
Sex scenes are like arias in opera. They have to move the story forwards
‘I want people to wake up’
Nemonte Nenquimo on growing up in the rainforest and her fight to save it
Anne Enright
Give me Moby-Dick over Persuasion anytime
‘It was high time I told our stories’
Jenny Erpenbeck on her International Booker winner Kairos
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Regulars
The books of my life
Caroline Lucas: ‘Rory Stewart finds Westminster as dysfunctional as I do’
Big idea
The big idea: why we need to put death on the curriculum
Most British children experience bereavement, and schools should help them deal with it
Where to start with
Where to start with: Rachel Cusk
From a novel sequence that dispenses with much of what we expect from fiction to fearlessly honest memoirs of motherhood and divorce, Cusk is a challenging writer. But also a genius
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You may have missed
‘He made every sentence electric’
Martin Amis remembered by Tina Brown, his old friend and devoted editor
‘He queered the hell out of it’
The man behind Shakespeare’s same-sex love sonnets
‘Imperial nostalgia has become so extreme’
Sathnam Sanghera on the conflict surrounding colonial history
Remembering John Burnside
His greatness was matched by his kindness
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